Bates was a leading authority on Greek inscriptions and ancient Greek drama. He came from an old Massachusetts family and grew up in Cambridge, where he was an acquaintance of Longfellow and Oliver Wendell Holmes. At Harvard he studied with Goodwin, White, Wright, Lane, Greenough, Allen, and Louis Dyer. He wrote numerous reviews, particularly in CP and AJA, and his books on Sophocles and Euripides stressed the importance of recently discovered fragments of these authors.His chief archaeological interest was vases, particularly those of Brygos. He used vase-paintings and papyrus finds to help reconstruct plots and to bring to life the action of the plays. He gave important service to the AIA, most notably as editor of AJA. He resigned his editorship when it appeared to him that the journal was broadening its editorial policy beyond what he considered the bounds of archaeology. When he was given his L.H.D. at Penn, the citation read, "as teacher, author and editor, with sound learning and the humility which befits the scholar, [he] has brought to our modern world the art and thought, the wisdom and beauty of ancient Greece."

Contact Us

Copyright 2018, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey. All rights reserved.
Rutgers is an equal access/equal opportunity institution. Individuals with disabilities are encouraged to direct suggestions, comments, or complaints concerning any accessibility issues with Rutgers web sites to: accessibility@rutgers.edu or complete the Report Accessibility Barrier or Provide Feedback Form.